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Ramzan Kadyrov, the man who sees himself as a freedom fighter with bizarre views came to power in 2005, a year after his father’s assassination. He did the unexpected and went to Kreml to meet Vladimir Putin resulting in a “friendship with benefits”.

Everywhere you turn; his ginger bearded smiling pictures on billboards stares down on the streets of Chechnya while he lives in a fortress like mansion in the village of Tsenteroi with his family and pets; a lion and a rare tiger. It is also claimed that this is the place where he tortures enemies of the state.

As a Sufi Muslim, Kadyrov supports polygamy and strict Islamic dress code for women. He also quoted;“I have the right to criticize my wife. She doesn’t [have the right to criticize me]. With us [in Chechen society], a wife is a housewife. A woman should know her place. A woman should give her love to us [men]… She would be [man’s] property. And the man is the owner. Here, if a woman does not behave properly, her husband, father, and brother are responsible. According to our tradition, if a woman fools around, her family members kill her… That’s how it happens, a brother kills his sister or a husband kills his wife… As a president, I cannot allow for them to kill. So, let women not wear shorts…”

Kadyrov has also stated that he wants to implement Islamic Sharia law in the Republic at the same time as he abides Russian law. This is not a surprise as he has the support of former Russian President Vladimir Putin and was also awarded the Hero of Russia medal, the highest honorary of Russia.

As President of Chechnya, Kadyrov has brought some peace and stability and launched several renovations to the capital Grozny that used to be a war torn city. He completed the reconstruction of two large Grozny avenues, repaired local roads; build new mosques, sport centers and hospitals but there is a darker side to this charismatic man. Kadyrov has been the center of attention of many international human rights organizations for corruption and severe human rights violations. It is most likely the meetings and support of Putin that gives Kadyrov the encouragement to threaten and physically eliminate his enemies.

On the meeting with journalist Andrew Osborn, Osborn wrote; “A squat, powerfully built man, he swaggers rather than walks, with his powerful boxer’s shoulders almost bursting out of his pinstriped suit. His press attache… keeps an eye on his charge as if he were guarding a stick of dynamite primed to explode if faced with one hostile question.”

When the journalist brought up the subject of Anna Politkovskaya during the interview, Kadyrov answered; “Why would I have killed her?” he asked. “She used to write bad things about my father, and if I had wanted to, I could have done something bad to her at that time. Why now?”

Still many strongly believes that Ramzan Kadyrov, with the permission of Kreml, arranged the elimination of Politkovskaya as she was one of the strongest critics of Kadyrov calling for his removal and that he should be put for trial for his crimes. “He is an extremely cruel man,” Politkovskaya told Ekho Moskvy radio in an interview broadcast shortly before her death. “I have met several people who told me that Ramzan Kadyrov personally tortured them in his home in the village of Tsentoroi. “

Another report was written by the now late Natalia Estimerova in August 2008. She wrote; “Political observer’s claim Kadyrov is ruling over Chechnya independently of Russia. Is it really so? Tens of thousands of Chechens pining away in Russian prisons would not agree.

Neither would the hundreds of thousands of war victims, or the relatives of the killed and missing. And the outflow of Chechen refugees to European countries is not subsiding. On the contrary: more and more people are trying to leave. A dictatorship is being cemented in a small European territory.” The 50 year old human rights investigator Estimerova was later discovered shot dead after being abducted from her home in Grozny in July 2009.

Birthday boy
Recently, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov held a multimillion dollar 35th birthday party flying in international musicians and Hollywood actors for a concert. He consequently denied that the Kremlin bankrolled festivity was in honour for him but rather to mark the 193rd anniversary of the founding of Grozny. ”There will be no ceremonies around my birthday. ”I categorically forbid any events to be devoted to it wherever they are,” he said.
Jean-Claude Van Damme, Hilary Swank and the British violinist Vanessa-Mae was charging was flewn in and Vanessa Mae alone charged $500,000 to perform in the concert. When asked where the unemployment-ravaged region got all its money for the celebration, Kadyrov answered. ”Allah gives it to us,” followed by: ”I don’t know, it comes from somewhere.”

The appearance of western celebrities was a huge blow in the face for human rights activists who accuse Kadyrov of torture and murder. The birthday boy spent the day opening a riverside complex including three skyscrapers as well as a hotel and conference centre. Covered by tight security, a 600-bed hospital was also opened together with a bridge and a restored avenue officially named after Mr Kadyrov’s late father, Akhmad.
Kadyrov who has become a warlord, who once fought against the Russians but then switched sides just like his father, has become more and more like his idol Vladimir Putin, sensitive to criticism and has developed a Soviet-style reign that would make Stalin proud.

Kadyrov also regularly invites Russian pop artists and gives them exclusive presents and no one has the courage to ask where the money comes from. No one dares to object to anything Kadyrov says or does, just as no one dared to object to Stalin’s words. To implement peace in the Republic has a price, and the price people have to pay is to disappear only for some days and return beaten, terrified and silent.

“I’ve already killed who I should have killed. And I will kill all of those standing behind them, as long as I myself am not killed or jailed. I will be killing as long as I live.” Ramzan Kadyrov.

Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganj-e-Shakar r.a. was born on the 29th Sha’ban in 569 A.H. [April 4, 1179 C.E.] in Khotwal, a village near Lahore [Pakistan]. He was a direct descendant of Hazrat Umar Farooq r.a., the second Caliph of Islam.
It is narrated that a miracle occurred before his birth proving his Saintship. One day, during the pregnancy of his mother, she wanted to pluck some plums from her neighbour’s tree without his permission, but the child in her womb (Hazrat Baba Farid) created a severe pain in her stomach that forced her to abandon the idea of plucking. After a few years after Hazrat Baba Farid’s r.a. birth, his mother lovingly expressed: “My dear son, during your confinement I never ate anything which was unlawful.” Hazrat Baba Farid r.a., however, smiled and said, “But, my dear mother, you wanted to pluck some plums from our neighbour’s tree without his permission when I had created a severe pain in your stomach which saved you from this unlawful act.”

Education: After he had completed his early religious education at the age of 7 in Khotwal, his mother sent him for higher education to Multan. Here he stayed in a masjid [mosque] where he learnt the Holy Qur’an by heart and studied Hadith, Fiqh, Philosophy and Logic under the tutorship of Maulana Minhajuddin. During his studies, Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Baktiar Kaki r.a. of Delhi visited Multan where Hazrat Baba Farid r.a. became his Murid (disciple) in the Chishtiyya Silsila. Upon the instructions of his Pir-o-Murshid, he undertook a tour of Islamic countries, for about 18 years from 593 A.H. to 611 A.H. [1196 C.E. to 1214 C.E.] he travelled to Ghazni, Baghdad Sharif, Jerusalem, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Mecca and Medina meeting many great saints and Sufis. After the demise of Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. the mantle of spiritual leadership in the Chishtiyya Silsila fell on the shoulders of Hazrat Baba Farid r.a. when Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a.nominated him to be his Khalifa or spiritual successor.

Besharat: It is narrated that when Hazrat Baba Farid r.a.visited Medina Sharif he was spiritually commanded by the Holy Prophet s.a.w.s. to visit Baghdad Sharif and meet Hazrat Abdul Wahab, son of Hazrat Ghaus-al-Azam Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani r.a. He was to receive some sacred relics from him. Accordingly, when he reached Baghdad Sharif, he received a box from Hazrat Abdul Wahab r.a. which contained the following holy relics: Two flag-poles which were used by the Holy Prophet s.a.w.s. in some of the battles fought by him; one wooden bowl in which the Prophet s.a.w.s. used to eat from; one pair of scissors and one turban which was used by the holy Prophet s.a.w.s.

Shrine & Chishtiya Mission: Because of political upheavals in Delhi, he was obliged to shift the centre of the Chishtiyya mission from Delhi to Ajodhan now known as “Pak Patan”. The Khanqah of Baba Farid r.a., with his patronage, became a great university of “moral and spiritual training.” Thousands of aspirants, scholars, dervishes and Sufis reaped benefit from this spiritual university. Hazrat Baba Farid r.a. reached the pinnacle of spiritual glory through extremely hard Mujahidas (spiritual striving) to gain mastery over the Nafs.

Death (Purdah): On the 5th of Muharram, during the Isha prayer [evening prayer] ] while in the act of Sajdah, [prostration during prayer] he uttered “Ya Hayo Ya Qayum” [O Self-Subsisting, O Eternal — two names of God] and with these words on his lips his soul disappeared into the eternal bliss of his beloved Allah. Immediately a “Nida” or Divine Voice declared: “Dost ba Dost Pewast” – Friend has merged into the unity of “Friend” (Allah). An old woman that was one of the devotees of the Saint presented a piece of cloth for the kaffan [shroud] of Hazrat Baba Farid r.a.. She implored: “I have not spun even a single thread of this cloth without having Wudu [purification]. I had prepared it for my own coffin but if it is accepted for the kaffan of this great Saint, I feel confident, Allah would be pleased with to pardon my sins and grant me salvation.” Hazrat Baba Farid’s r.a. son accepted this cloth as the Kaffan.

Murids: His Mazar Sharif [noble shrine] is in Pak Patan, Pakistan. Hazrat Sabir Pak, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Hazrat Jamaluddin Hansi rehmatulla alaihim [may Allah have mercy upon them] are among his favourite Murids and Khalifas. It is generally recognized that he had three wives and many children. Hazrat Baba Farid r.a. was indeed one of the most brilliant stars of the Chishtiyya Silsila and is held in high esteem by one and all.

The Chishtī Order is a Sufi order within the mystic branches of Islam which was founded in Chisht, a small town near Herat, Afghanistan about 930 CE. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness.

The order was founded by Abu Ishaq Shami (“the Syrian”) who introduced the ideas of Sufism to the town of Chisht, some 95 miles east of Herat in present-day western Afghanistan. Before returning to Syria, where he is now buried next to Ibn Arabi at Jabal Qasiyun Shami initiated, trained and deputized the son of the local emir, Abu Ahmad Abdal. Under the leadership of Abu Ahmad’s descendants, the Chishtiyaas they are also known flourished as a regional mystical order.

The most famous of the Chishti saints is Moinuddin Chishti (popularly known as Gharib Nawaz meaning “Benefactor of the Poor”) who settled in Ajmer, India. He oversaw the growth of the order in the 13th century as Islamic religious laws were canonized. He reportedly saw the Islamic prophet Muhammad in a dream and then set off on a journey of discovery.

Chishti master Inayat Khan (1882–1927) was the first to bring the Sufi path to the West, arriving in America in 1910 and later settling near Paris, France. His approach exemplified the tolerance and openness of the Chishti Order, following a custom began by Moinuddin Chishti of initiating and training disciples regardless of religious affiliation and which continued through Nizamuddin Auliya and Shah Kalim Allah Jahanabadi. Chishti master Mido Chishty has taken teachings of the order to develop FUZN. This has proven popular in the Middle East, Australia and California.

Key Practices & Principles:

The Chishti Order is famous for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. The order traces its spiritual origin through various saints all the way to the Islamic caliph Ali and from him to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The Chishti saints had two hallmarks which differentiate them from other Sufi saints. The first was their ethical relations to the institutional powers. This meant voluntarily keeping a distance from the ruler or the government mechanism. It didn’t matter if the ruler was a patron or a disciple: he was always kept at bay since it was felt that mixing with the ruler will corrupt the soul by indulging it in worldly matters.

The second distinctive dimension was related to the religious practice of the Chishtis. It was proactive rather than passive; a ceaseless searches for the divine other. In this respect the Chishtis followed a particular ritual more zealously then any other brotherhood. This was the practice of Sama, evoking the divine presence through song or listening to music. The genius of the Chishti saints was that they accommodated the practice of sema with the full range of Muslim obligations.

The Chishti Order can also be characterized by the following principles:

Obedience to the sheikh and/or pir

Renunciation of the material world

Distance from worldly powers

Supporting the poor

Service to humanity

Respect for other devotional traditions

Dependence on the Creator and not the creation

Disapproval of showing off miraculous feats

The Chishti Order is now indigenous to Afghanistan and South Asia (mainly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). It was the first of the four main Sufi Orders (Chishtia, Qadiriyya, Suhrawardiyya and Naqshbandi) to be established in this region. Moinuddin Chishti introduced the Chishti Order in India, sometime in the middle of the 12th century AD. He was eighth in the line of succession from the founder of the Chishti Order, Abu Ishq Shami. The devotees of this order practise chilla i.e. they observe seclusion for forty days during which they refrain from talking beyond what is absolutely necessary, eat little and spend most of their time in prayers and meditation. Another characteristic of the followers of this order is their fondness for devotional music. They hold musical festivals, and enter into ecstasy while listening to singing.

After Fariduddin Ganjshakar, the Chishti Order of South Asia split into two branches. Either branch was named after one of Ganjshakar’s successors:

Nizamuddin Auliya – This branch became the Chishti Nizami branch. Nizamuddin was the master of Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehlavi who in turn was the master of Khwaja Bande Nawaz. All these are important saints of the order.

Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari – This branch became the Chishti-Sabiri branch.

Over time (principally after the 17th century) many further branches emerged which routinely united or diverged towards other popular Sufi orders in South Asia. Prominent people of later times who trace their spiritual lineage through the Chishti order include:

Ashraf Jahangir Semnani – He further extended the litanies the Chishtiya Nizami branch. His followers became the members of the Chishti Nizami Ashrafiya branch.

Haji Imdadullah Muhaajir Makki – He extended the litanies of the Chishtiya Sabaria branch. His followers became the members of the Chishtiya Sabaria Imdadiya branch.

Shah Niyaz Ahmad- He united the Chishti Nizami order with the Qadriya order to form the Chishtiya Qadriya Nizamia Niyazia branch.

As a result of this metamorphosis of the Chishti order with other branches, most Sufi masters now initiate their disciples in all the four major orders of South Asia: Chishti, Suhrawadi, Qadri and Naqshbandi. They do however; prescribe prayers and litanies, only of the order with which they are primarily associated.